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I have always found the 1937 Cord to be a graceful car. I think you could take some ideas off it as well.

The interior with respect to the gauge cluster may be a good cue. The idea may be as simple as using some diamond plate to replicate the look here:
And of course the side pipes that are visible and well know on these models and you could also get some inspiration from the grille:

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Ryan - you are SO right; there's a lot out there that can be brought in to traditional rods and customs without becoming street rods and modern kustoms. Thanks for showing us what we can be if we think outside the kulture.

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It probably goes without saying, but the Delahaye lineup is just loaded with great inspiration... flowing lines, graceful everything, and those low headlights and tall grille look flat-out MEAN.... Consider the Delahaye's design cues when compared to Westergard, etc. Low, sleek, flowing....
And this Dodge I had posted before on a Friday Art show, but the inspiration ran the gamut from Jaguar to the Russian Gaz (side trim was inspired by their model 13... which bears a striking resemblance to a Packard...)

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Flyingpolack, you have it exactly right. Delahayes are the best references when you need some design cues. They have it all. It's hard to think of anything bad about them.

Now, if you are thinking rods - use the Duesenbergs for inspiration. From their gorgeous bodies to the detail on the delicious straight eight engines, there is no better reference. Perfect, just perfect.

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Ryan, I've really love these entries. I think a lot of people feel the need to stay within this vaccuum of a predefined notion of traditional. You give just perfect examples of period items and stylings that would really set something off. I really like the finned drums myself. It's simple, can be found in the past and looks stunning. I'm glad you approach this with a designer's eye, an open eye, but an eye that knows when something would be too much.

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I hope this isn't off topic, but I'm inspired by the Arts and Crafts style of architecture and design, particularly, the lamps of the 1920s. Most of the shapes aren't exactly right for traditional cars, but some of the styling cues, I believe, are right on. And the rich glow of copper and mica materials could make some awesome turn signals or dash lights. Imagine driving at night with your whole dash insert glowing and scaring the crap out of the guy in the next lane when he sees the illuminated crazed look on your face.

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Does anyone know what car, either American or Euro, that would be considered "The First" to have full fade-away fenders - where the front fenders continue all the way to the back?

Westergard built a 40 Merc for Butler Rugard in the early 40s that may be the first car "customized" to have full fades, but what I am wondering is what car was - or may have been - the inspiration for this modification?

What MIGHT they have seen to make them think "hey, that would be cool on my car"?

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[quote='29MurrayTub]I love this post. Lots of fine design work out there.

I hope this isn't off topic, but I'm inspired by the Arts and Crafts style of architecture and design, particularly, the lamps of the 1920s. Most of the shapes aren't exactly right for traditional cars, but some of the styling cues, I believe, are right on. And the rich glow of copper and mica materials could make some awesome turn signals or dash lights.[/quote]

Ya know, '29MurrayTub is on to something here... Consider both Arts and Crafts, as well as Mission-style design. Function first, with a twist of "how to make it look nice"... The Bahaus School of design offers tremendous inspiration, obviously.
Considering the mention of some killer dashboard illumination, while not European, imagine a Euro-inspired dash cluster lit Electroluminescently (say THAT five times fast), similar to older Imperials, early Chargers... you could pull off some serious deco-inspired looks with a little creativity. The right combination of nickel, chrome, and maybe even some brass would breed a kick-ass instrument panel... and even jusicious use of some engine-turned inserts...
Anyone considered looking to custom musical instruments for inspiration as well? Some of the stuff from Fender's Custom Shop are pure inspiration in more than one way, as well.
Great thread... It's gonna cause me MANY sleepless nights at the drawing board!

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Actually, Auto Unions are prolly only 2nd to Ferrari for me as far as dream cars go... They were just out of the time period I was thinking about for this particular article.

I have a huge Auto Union article written up that I will roll with in a couple of months most likely...

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For me Auto Union, beats out Ferrari. But I think I'm biased because I used to race around an Audi. Nah seriously, I think Auto Union had more of a flair for going out of the box on design. They lead the way for a lot of others designs. Don't get me wrong though, I love old Scuderia Ferrari's. Oh, I give up its a tie.

One thing I always enjoyed about older European cars is in their designing they kept that deco or simpler look for a longer period of time than American cars, and some never really gave it up. Ahem...Morgan.....or Austin.....Volvo's in the 60's....

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Check out the whole spectrum of tech and style of the time period you like--aircraft, classic cars, locomotives, military vehicles, appliances. Check out museums and shows, roam the architecture-history-art-photo-design sections of a big bookstore, go to the library and read through Life-Post-specialized magazines, looking at stuff in articles, ads, etc.
And--for automotive stuff, if you are building to look like 1952, stop and imagine what a 1952 hotrodder would have seen in the junkyard, surplus store, newsstand, Sears catalog, etc.
B-29 bits in surplus? a dead Pierce-Arrow hearse at the junkyard? magazines showing sprint cars or Allards? Diesel locomotives replacing steamers at the depot? Sabrejets in Korea? What was on the menu for a rodder looking beyond the JC Whitney catalog??

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Does anyone know what car, either American or Euro, that would be considered "The First" to have full fade-away fenders - where the front fenders continue all the way to the back?

Westergard built a 40 Merc for Butler Rugard in the early 40s that may be the first car "customized" to have full fades, but what I am wondering is what car was - or may have been - the inspiration for this modification?

What MIGHT they have seen to make them think "hey, that would be cool on my car"?

Click to expand...

In 1933 Pierce-Arrow built 3 (?) Silver Arrow show car/prototypes with fadeaway design. Sidemount spares tucked into locking wells looks a little strange at first glance.

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When you look back to styling from the late 20s up until WWII, you have to look at how much design was influenced by German builders. Working for a pre-owned Mercedes-Benz dealer, I get to see alot of vintage Mercedes from time to time. Mercedes owners are very loyal to the make, and many are big collectors of everything Mercedes, including some super art work. I scrounged around the web to show a few of the cars that I've seen in various customer's art prints hanging in their homes.

The streamliner is incredible! It reminds me of the streamliners that were running in Bonneville after the war. This one really mirrors the Kenz and Leslie 777 Streamliner. I love it!

The open wheel race car has hot rod influence all over it. The wire wheels and lack of fenders shows the style that early rodders were copying on their cars. The nose just makes me melt! I love the way the nose and headlights are all in one, and the grille headlight protectors are super neat! The owner of our sister repair shop has a great print with three of these racecars running a race in first, second and third place, with some Ferraris in the background trying to catch up. I have to admit I'm more of a kustom guy than a hot rod guy, but if I ever do build a rod, a nose like that is on my wish list.

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OG... that's another one for me too actually... I have a photo set consisting of a ton of nazi era race cars (mostly mercs) being blessed by hitler himself. It's a real contrast - these gorgeous race cars next to such a puny little/pathetic man... I've been debating whether or not to post them as they do come with baggage... more later.

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OG... that's another one for me too actually... I have a photo set consisting of a ton of nazi era race cars (mostly mercs) being blessed by hitler himself. It's a real contrast - these gorgeous race cars next to such a puny little/pathetic man... I've been debating whether or not to post them as they do come with baggage... more later.

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I know what you mean, Ryan. You gotta love the style, but you almost feel guilty about it because it was all part of the Awful Machine. As car nuts, we just have to enjoy the good and be thankful that the outcome was how it was. Without getting political or anything, I'd just like to say..........

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Here's a few that might provide some esthetic inspiration. A couple cool Indy car paint schemes. I can see the black and white Ford (circa 1935) scheme redone on just about any lakes mod or race-inspired rod - especially one with flatty power.

The later car is a '60's era A.J.Foyt car that was done up by West coast Kustom legend Dean Jeffries. Again, I think this motif would be pretty cool on a rod.

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A couple more ideas - this time on the tech side. Again with an Indy flavor - but well suited for a unique rod. Maybe a bit outside the box, but hey - no guts, no glory.

First is a "traditional" circle-track torsion front suspension (this happens to be the Foyt car from the previous post, but this setup was used in hundreds of cars - with variations still commonly seen in the sprinters today). Two offset bars, each running parallel with the front axle - and supporting a seperate wheel. I'll be using this type of front end on my RPU.

How about front wheel drive? This Miller, and several others were very successful at Indy, and there was more than one example at the lakes in the early days. An FWD setup would be a knockout on a rod today.

Intercooler anyone? Another kick-ass Miller deal. We talked about this at some length a few months back. There was some division as to the performance potential, but no question about the super bitchin' look.

Not whacky enough for you? How about a diesel-powered rod? The Cummins guys did O.K. at the brickyard with this "smoker" - and there have been some impressive diesel runs at Bonneville in the last several years.

Still too mainstream? What about the Belond Exhaust Special (an Indy winner, BTW)? This car featured a laid-on-its-side Offy for minimal wind resistance. Could this be done with a "banger" in a lakes-style car? Sure, it would take a crazy amount of work, but you'd have something that would probably never be equalled.